For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com

India: Attacks Persist

Hindu extremists continue to target Christians in India with harassment, false accusations, beatings and even murder. The Global Council of Indian Christians believes Hindu extremists are behind two recent murders of Christians in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the most recent case, 17-year-old Nirupama Pradhan was raped and murdered after school on May 12, 2011. Her father, Sitrian Pradhan, named the possible murderer, but according to Asia News, police have done nothing to find the murderer.

Police also have refused to give a post-mortem report to the widow of Saul Pradhan, a Christian preacher who was murdered on Jan. 10, 2011. Pradhan had taken a new job at a brick kiln in another village. When he did not return home from work one day, his family searched for him and found his body near a pond. Police originally claimed Pradhan died from the “bitter cold,” but his employers, Hindu radicals, later confessed to the murder. Continue Reading Persecution Friday: India…

It’s school time and that means earlier mornings, earlier bedtimes, and homework. It also means bus rides, cooler weather (eventually), and sitting through hours of classes. One of the most dreaded things in school is the evil pop quiz. This is like an ambush to school kids (and it may be one of the few ways that some teachers get back at the kids…). The pop quiz was a way to make sure that the kids actually absorbed and understood whatever topic was being taught. Those that retained the information did well. Those that didn’t got themselves marked as needing help.

I think that it would be great if the church started giving pop quizzes. Imagine the scene: You have had a regular Sunday morning. No one got up on time because they expected someone else to set the alarm clock. Kids and parents have spent the last thirty minutes fighting over who gets the shower (and the hot water). One of the kids has been sent back to their room to change twice because they can’t seem to understand that you can’t wear the hot green top with the red velvet pants. The other kids have been told to sit down on the couch and wait for the rest of the family. This went well….for about 5 seconds. They are now getting on each others’ nerves and it is about to get ugly. Mom is in the bathroom putting on makeup while Dad is left to keep watch on the brewing storm and the one uncoordinated child. Continue Reading Pop Quiz…

Another Democrat facing ethics charges
A second House Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, could be facing an ethics trial this fall, further complicating the midterm election outlook for the party as it battles to hold onto its majority.

Amish communities growing rapidly
A new study estimates the number of Amish in North America has doubled since 1992 and increased nearly 10 percent in the past two years alone.

Obama to GOP: Restore Unemployment Benefits Now
Washington (AP) – President Barack Obama took aim at Republican lawmakers Monday, accusing them of holding the public hostage to Washington politics by blocking extended unemployment benefits for millions of out of work Americans…

Homegrown terrorist threats
A homeland security expert thinks Americans should be concerned with the increase in the number of U.S. citizens being radicalized” to Islam, often with a Somali connection.

As our nation and the world continue to struggle with societal woes, everyone rushes around searching for the answers. They run tests, perform studies, and survey people to find out what is going on. In all of this, they neglect the very thing that can help them fix all of the problems that we will ever face.

In America, the problems continue to grow as the government no longer cares to listen to the people it governs. Instead, it sits in its ivory tower with ears plugged and tells the country exactly what is best for it without having a shred of evidence that this is so. Meanwhile, the things that America so desperately needs continue to dwindle away to nothing. Those things that have made this nation what it is disappear at a growing rate, being eroded by the newest fad or the most recent study. One of the main things that is becoming endangered is the biblical family. Continue Reading The importance of family…

Today, President Barack Obama gave a speech to a number of school children around the country for “President Barack Obama’s Back to School Event”. And while I didn’t hear the speech itself, I did read the transcript. If his teleprompter showed exactly the same thing as the transcript, then this speech wasn’t as political as it could have been. Somehow I have a hard time believing that he stuck to the script, seeing as he hasn’t done that yet. Adding to the controversy is the supposed lessons that were to go along with the speech. With all of this, I can’t help but be skeptical.

Even so, a quick read of the transcript shows a shallow but somewhat encouraging speech. The problems come when you look deeper and compare what he is saying to reality and to the president’s own agenda. From the beginning, the president plays on emotion (like he always does) to “touch” people. I wonder if the president realizes that the state the nation is in is “no picnic for any of us” and that everything he plans on doing will only make it worse.

His supposed purpose for the speech is to remind the kids of what’s expected of them. That they are to be responsible. He told them that they are responsible for their own future. Amazingly, I actually agree with the president on this point, but later on in the speech he tells the kids that the goverment is doing all it can to help. I find talk about responsibility pretty funny coming from a man who doesn’t seem to know what the word means (along with the words transparency, freedom, and justice). He tells the children they are responsible for their own education and if they fail, then they not only fail themselves, they fail the country. Maybe the president should start with his own responsibilities and actually fulfill those before he tries to tell others what they need to do. It is because the president has failed to be responsible that we are in the situation we’re in. He has already spent more money than all the other presidents combined and he hasn’t even been in office a year yet. Much of the money has been wasted and has failed to produce any positive effect on anything. The president has failed to be responsible to America by allowing the bills he supports (those meant to stave off “catastrophe”) to be rushed through Congress and avoiding any kind of debate on the issues. The bills have been passed in the dark of night by Congressmen (who are supposed to represent you and I) who didn’t read them at all (and at an average of 1000 pages each, who would want to?). How is that responsible? How does the president expect people to be responsible when he continues to push them to depend completely on the government for everything? On top of that, the man has taken vacations that would make Robin Leach jealous (some costing $35,000 a day!) on the taxpayer’s dollar! Tell me again how that is responsible when there are now millions of people without jobs and the economy is suffering?

He tells the children that if they want to have a good job and help the nation, they will have to work hard and train for it. How much training did Mr. Obama have for his job? Does Sal Alinsky’s book really teach the things that the president of a free republic needs to know? I doubt it… He then lists a number of jobs that they need an education for. If they want to be a doctor they will need an education. He fails to tell them that if his healthcare plan gets passed, there will be no need many doctors because the government will be deciding who gets to practice, what they get to practice, and where they get to practice. They will need an education to be a teacher. But, the president fails to tell the kids that teachers are so overworked and underpaid that it’s not funny. He doesn’t tell them that the public (government run) schools are so bad in many places that teachers fear for their lives. The teacher’s union doesn’t make things any better…Another job they’ll need an education for is police officer. What he forgot to tell the kids is that if they actually do their job, they will be labeled racists or worse (I mean, really, how many beer summits can the president have anyway?). Maybe they want to be nurses, architects, lawyers, or be part of the military. Out of the entire list, the only ones that may make money are the lawyers. There is a shortage of nurses, but in many places even those nurses who are working are having their hours cut because of the economy. Architects are feeling the crunch of the economy as well. And for those going into the military, he forgot to mention that he cut the defense budget. This means that the soldiers we have (and the new ones coming in) will have to do without more than they already do and still do the same job (reminds me of Pharoah taking away the straw…). All of this on top of the fact that they are fighting his war in Afghanistan.

He then tells the kids that their classes will help them get the skills they need to “meet our greatest challenges in the future”. They will need math and science to gain problem solving skills needed to find cures for AIDS and cancer. Of course, we need to ask if it is really science or if it is the evolutionary trash that they are talking about? Or maybe it’s the “climate change” pseudo-science? Not only that, he doesn’t tell them that their cures will be rationed to the people that the government determines are most needed and viable (which kind of ignores the whole Hippocratic oath doesn’t it?). They will also need these skills to develop “new energy technologies” (except nuclear power) and protect our environment (from things like global warming – oops! – I mean climate change). They will also need critical thinking skills from things like history and social studies to “fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and free”. What history will they be taught Mr. President? Will it be the revised one that removes much of the truth that liberals have been pushing for decades or will it be the true history of our country that includes the faith of the founders and their dependence on God? Will it be the one that shows how atrocious things get when the government takes control of things or will you leave those parts out because they don’t fit your agenda? Will is show how lazy and complacent people get when they depend on the government for everything or will the oversized, “big brother”, federal government be painted as the hero? Will they have to fight poverty by stealing from one who is successful (which could very well be them!) and giving it to someone who has no desire to do what it takes to acheive anything? He also tells the kids to develop their creativity and ingenuity so that they can start new companies and “boost our economy” but fails to tell them that his administration (and those like him) is destroying small businesses through taxation, legislation, and the erosion of the free market.

He tells the children that we need every single one of them to help solve our most difficult problems, but what about the millions of unborn children who were not fortunate enough to make it to school age because they were unwanted and aborted? Don’t we need them too? Don’t we need the senior citizens to teach up and coming generations what made this country great, how to live within their means, and what honor and integrity are; instead of pushing for “end of life care” and euthanasia to eliminate them (except the ones in Congress of course…)? He talks about the stuggles that many of the kids face but fails to admit government’s role in many of them. Are those situations tragic? Yes! Should they be addressed? Yes! But, it should be with something that works and the government isn’t that something.

He calls on each child to set goals for themselves and meet them. He doesn’t tell them that they’ll be fighting the government every step of the way. Maybe they’ll get involved in extracurricular activities or voluteer in the community (like with ACORN Mr. Obama?). Maybe they’ll stand up for those being bullied and teased because of who they are and what they look like (unless they’re Christians – because we can tolerate everyone but them…). The president says that he believes that every child deserves a safe environment to study and learn in (provided they make it out of the womb alive). I agree with the sentiment but I don’t think that a public school classroom is that place.

He tells the kids that being successful is hard (and it is) but they can do it if they persevere. He tells them that they shouldn’t let their failures define them. Instead they should learn from them. Sadly, his own words and actions don’t line up. He says that failures should teach us but completely ignores his own failures, continuously lies to defend them, or attacks those who point them out for what they are. His stimulus package just had to be passed but it has failed to keep the unemployment rate below 8% (which was promised), it has failed to produce millions of “shovel ready” jobs to boost our economy(another promise), it wasn’t debated or put up for 5 days so the public could read it (still another promise), and it has failed to responsibly spend the taxpayers money (yet another promise). Not only that, it saddles the children he talked to with about $100,000 in debt before they can ever make a dime (and he’s not done yet). He claims that no one is born good at things, but he sure acts like he is (hence the Messiah title given to him by some of his followers).

He says that the kids should be afraid to ask questions, but I can’t help but wonder if he set up an email where other kids could rat them out if the questions they asked were “fishy”? Why should the kids ask questions if they will only get the same tired “party line” or be reprimanded for actually disagreeing with the administration? He tells them to go to others to ask for help, but who should they go to Mr. Obama? You mention family, teachers, and coaches. Family would be best (if they have that option), but teachers don’t often have the time (or don’t have the right things to say) and coaches can get in severe trouble if they give what is deemed to be Christian advice (you know, that whole separation of church and state thing that’s not even in the Constitution…). He does mention counselors. Does this mean that he’s planning on setting up a new government department (there’s those shovel ready jobs!) so that kids can call an “anonymous” hotline for help?

He then tries to tie in history (which is something that he hasn’t been too good at) to his agenda, telling the kids that out country’s story is one of people who never quit when things got tough. They loved their country “too much to do anything less than their best”. I find it ironic that the people from 250 years ago he’s talking about were fighting against a bigger than life, tyrannical government that wanted to take away their individual liberties and freedoms (kinda like the current administration!) They fought oppressive government who failed to represent them and tried to tell them exactly what they could and couldn’t do. Not only did many of them fight for their freedom, many died for it too. How far have the American people fallen. Today, if the government offers us the same old thing in a shiny new wrapper, we jump all over it and seem to forget that they’ve continually lied to us for decades. Today, we don’t vote for elected officials based on character, honor, and integrity. Instead we vote for them based on party affiliation, charisma, and rhetoric. The people who were there 75 years ago overcame a Depression that was made worse by constant, ill-conceived government intervention by a government that was larger than it had ever been up to that point. It was a raw deal complete with numerous wasteful government programs (basically the ancestor of the current administration). They destroyed crops at a time when people were starving (and still do!). It destroyed the economy and the job market, leading many to commit suicide. The world war we fought was something that our nation didn’t need to be in and something that the president of the time (Woodrow Wilson) promised the country he would keep them out of. We may have changed the way we communicate, but unless we’re telling each other the truth, nothing has really changed.

So, what has the president contributed? He’s contributed to the national debt, mocked our nation, lied to the American people on numerous occasions, surrounded himself with people who promote everything that America has always been against, and enlarged the federal government to a size that defies the Constitution. He hasn’t solved any of the country’s current problems (it’s hard to do that when you’re always on vacation) and has added numerous new problems to the pile. If there is a president in the next 20/50/100 years, I hope that he sees this generation as the one who said they’ve had enough and turned back to God and the Constitution. Mr. Obama says that he’s trying to fix the classrooms but that’s not his job. He tells the kids to get serious, but he fails to do the same. He then adds what has become a cliche in America: “God bless you, and God bless America”. Which God are you talking about Mr. Obama? Is it the god of Islam? Is it one of the gods of Hinduism? Or is it the God of the Bible? If it’s the latter, then he is just deluding himself (or trying to delude us). Barack Obama neither knows or has seen the God of the Bible. If he really had, then the things that he does and says would be much, much different.

If we’re going to see true change in our country, we have to so something other than what we’ve always (recently) done. We have to go back to our moral foundations. We have to start living by the word of the Lord. We have to teach our children to fear God and obey what the Bible says. We have to restore the traditional (Biblical) family to its position of prominence in our nation. Proverbs says, “Train up your child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will never depart from it”. We’ve stopped training our children in the way they should go and we’re paying for it. We’ve have ignored God’s wisdom and it is now catching up to us. The only ones we have to blame are ourselves…

Answer: When the ACLU and other anti-Christian groups try to take away the rights of Christians.

There are many things going on right now that could change how Christians are allowed to act and even speak.

Two families have sued a California private school because the school expelled two girls in 2005 for engaging in homosexual behavior. They parents are suing for damages and for prevention of the school from doing that again in the future. Ok, I know that this is obvious to me, but: This is a private, CHRISTIAN school! What did the parents expect would happen? Did they not read the handbook that told them the beliefs and rules of the school? Did they think that if something like this happened that the school would allow it even though it goes against their beliefs? If your kids are going to a private Christian school, then they should be Christians, or at least understand that if they do anything that goes against the Christian doctrine of the school then they are going to be punished accordingly… Continue Reading When is a Christian school not a Christian school?…

Not long ago, there was a meeting of over 2,000 spiritual leaders in Europe to discuss the effect of Christianity on Europe and to remind the European nations of the impact that Christianity has made on that continent. I knew from the stance of many of the nations of Europe they had a dwindling population of devout Christians, but I never realized just how small they were in some countries. In Great Britain, 33 percent of those polled said religion was “very important” in their lives, compared to 27 percent in Italy, 21 percent in Germany, 11 percent in France, and 11 percent in Czech Republic. This is compared to 60 percent of people in America saying that religion is “very important” to them.
Why the decline of Christianity in Europe? Why are so many turning away from the faith? Let’s get a little closer to home and be a little real. Why are so many in America turning away from Christianity? The numbers say that 60% of people believe that religion is very important to them, but is that accurate? And what about the ones who are leaving? Many of America’s professing atheists grew up in fundamental Christian homes.